Police in Rukiga District have confirmed the identities of those who lost their lives in a tragic road crash involving a Trinity Bus, registration number RAT 597K, along the Mbarara–Kabale highway.
Authorities identified the deceased as Lubwama John Herbert, 26, a resident of Kanyanya Village in Kawempe Division, Wakiso District; Habineza Alfred, 30, a Rwandan national who worked as a bus conductor; and Gadaffi, also a Rwandan national and bus conductor. Police further named Habiyaremye Ananias, 44, the bus driver from Rwamagana District in Rwanda, as another victim. Three adult female passengers also died in the accident, although their identities have not yet been established.
Kigezi Regional Police Spokesperson Elly Maate stated that the bus was en route from Kigali, Rwanda, to Kampala when it crashed at the Bukinda–Kakatunda section of the Kabale–Mbarara highway. Early findings suggest that the driver lost control of the vehicle while descending a slope, causing it to leave the roadway, plunge into a water trench, and slide into a deeper ditch.
Maate explained that during the slide, the bus door broke as passengers tried to escape, leading to three male passengers being crushed instantly. Four other occupants, including the driver, survived with injuries. Police say preliminary assessments point to over-speeding on the slope as the main cause of the crash.
The accident scene was inspected by Rukiga District Police Commander SSP Wabwire Alex, Regional Traffic Officer SP Mahad Juma, and Rukiga Traffic officers led by ASP Rubango J. Bosco.
The injured were transported to Kabale Regional Referral Hospital in a Ministry of Health ambulance, while the bodies of the deceased were taken to Kabale Hospital mortuary for postmortem examinations. The damaged bus was later towed to Rukiga Central Police Station, where it will remain pending inspection by the Inspector of Vehicles.
